Her Majesty's Royal Coven

February 21, 2022
This cleverly constructed contemporary fantasy, the adult debut from YA bestseller Dawson (This Book Is Gay), launches the HMRC series. Witches Niamh, Ciara, Helena, Leonie, and Elle have been friends since childhood. They swore their oath to the eponymous, long-standing coven—a secret mainstay of the British government—together and fought side-by-side during a brutal civil war. When, after years of peace, Theo, an impossibly powerful teenage warlock, is discovered in an orphanage, the portents foretell a new threat. As it becomes clear there’s more to Theo than meets the eye, conflict over how to handle the situation erupts among the four friends. Helena’s personal biases gradually overshadow her friendships, and she takes increasing risks to secure the safety of her coven. Though at first the story feels run-of-the-mill and seems to lack the emotional intensity that characterizes Dawson’s work for teens, a gradually building layer of political commentary ultimately reveals a complex metaphor for the U.K.’s sociopolitical climate and mainstream transphobia. This added texture is carefully balanced with a fast-paced second half and some truly surprising twists, making this an exciting new direction for Dawson. Readers will be eager for the next installment. Agent: Alyssa Reuben, Paradigm Talent Agency.

May 1, 2022

This first adult novel by YA author Dawson (Clean; Meat Market) is a story of feminism, matriarchy, gender roles, and tradition, in which a group of women at a crossroads must decide between what's right and what's easy. Niamh, Helena, Leonie, and Elle fought and won a war between witches and warlocks that drove them to separate scarred futures. The Coven's prophets predict that it's about to happen again and that fighting among themselves will cost them the future they once fought together to save. This opening volume in a projected trilogy is about the breaking of their world, as the prophecies turn out to be self-fulfilling and the ends are proven once again not to justify the means. Three old friends fight the darkness, while one refuses to see that she has come to embody it. As everyone chooses sides, evil is loosed upon their world. VERDICT Readers who love a big fight between good and evil, who enjoy seeing magic in the everyday world, and those who like their heroine's journeys to include all facets of heartbreak will savor the cut and thrust of this battle.--Marlene Harris

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 15, 2022
Dawson, in an impressive flex, uses the rules of the fantasy genre to make a statement about people of color and LGBTQ individuals and how organizations can exclude and ignore them. Witches are always women and are always more powerful than men, or warlocks. Her Majesty's Royal Coven (HMRC) is known to exclude and judge witches of color, who might use magic not approved by white women, and warlocks are excluded as well. HMRC is holding to its exclusionary rules, which could be more problematic than they know. Five friends, Niamh, Elle, Leonie, Helena, and Ciara, are sworn in as witches loyal to HMRC. Twenty-five years later, Helena runs the coven; Elle and Niamh are no longer in HMRC; Leonie has left to form her own inclusive coven; and Ciara is in a coma-type state because of her evil activity. Helena asks Niamh to step in and help with a young and extremely powerful warlock, Theo, who has been foreseen to have a connection to a great evil that could destroy the world; if he is treated with kindness and understanding, Theo could be the renewal of their world. Readers who enjoy witches and watching change ripple through a culture will enjoy this series.

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